TOPIC: A new "Macbeth" from Australia.

In the hands of Australian director Geoffrey Wright ("Romper Stomper"), "Macbeth" has now been transplanted to Melbourne's criminal underworld. While Shakespeare's prose is more or less intact (whereas "Men of Respect" opted for contemporary translation), the play's power has been diluted by questionable editing, an overload of blandly stylized violence and the conspicuous suspicion that this whole thing is the predictable result of catering to base commercial instincts.